Golden Circle
by allonsysilvertongue
Summary: Three times Tony spent time with May and Peter, and the one time he couldn't.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello again, I'm back with a new 3 +1, I hope you're not bored of it yet!_

* * *

 _i._

Tony grabbed the marker lying on the table, moving closer to the bed where Peter was. He pushed the blanket away, revealing the bright red cast underneath it. Without a word, he signed on it.

"There – just bumped up your cool factor by about a hundred," he declared, capping the black marker before tossing it aside.

Peter grinned, craning his neck to take a better look.

"That'll shut Flash up," he told his aunt sitting on his right. "Thanks, Mr. Stark."

"No problem. Back to what we were talking about before the doctor interrupted us… So, you're telling me that there's a whole discourse out there about Star Trek and Star Wars."

"Yep," Peter nodded.

"Why can't they just like both?" May frowned, confused.

Tony was quick to jump onboard, agreeing with May on it, "Exactly. Explain it to me, kid."

Peter shifted on the bed, adjusting his casted leg carefully. He fielded off question of _'are you in pain? Do you need painkillers?'_ from May away.

"I – I don't really know, Mr. Stark. I haven't actually seen Star Trek, you know? Like, I've only seen an episode here and there when it's on reruns on TV but I've never really follow up on it the way I do with Clone Wars. I guess it's – it's like Stark Industries with Oscorp Industries? It's sort of same but also different…. It just doesn't mix?"

Tony blinked, a little offended that Peter even thought to think that his company was in any way similar to Oscorp _but_ put it that way, he was starting to see the whole Star Wars versus Star Trek in a different light. Personally, he had seen both and they were both alright.

"Alright, alright, I see where you're coming from. Still, you made the deduction that Star Wars is in some way superior without ever having watched Star Trek saved for that one or two episodes you caught," Tony stared down at him. "Here I thought you watched a lot more shows and movies."

"Hey, that's not cool. Star Trek was during _your_ time. You must have had the time to watch them growing up. For me, I have to actually play catch up, you know, and there's just like so many other stuffs to watch."

May stood up, wandering away from the arm chair she had claimed as her own to talk to one of the nurses. Tony caught wind of 'incessant pop culture argument' and he whipped his head in her direction, unable to believe that she was telling on them to the nurse; a nurse of _his_ pay roll.

"And like, I mean, with Ned it's always just – just Star Wars. We never really got the chance to watch any Star Trek. I – I know there was like a movie that came out in 2009 with Chris Pine, wasn't it? Uncle Ben was – um – supposed to bring us to the theatre to watch it but he had to take on some work or something and it sort of just never happen?"

Out of all the things that came out from the kid's mouth, he was most surprised by the mention of his uncle. Peter hardly ever talked about him.

Tony offered him a soft smile.

"I've never caught the movies myself, only the television series with Leonard Nimoy. So tell you what, kid, let's watch that movie right here, right now. We've got time and you're not going anywhere – not with that leg."

"It'll heal in a few days," Peter shrugged.

"Exactly, you heal so fast the doctors might even remove the screws instead of waiting for months. We gotta keep you occupied before you get bored and hop around on that leg when you're not supposed to."

"Alright, Mr. Stark," he acquiesced. "Let's watch Star Trek."

"Good boy," he ruffled the kid's hair much to his chagrin. "You can't make conclusions until you have all the data in front of you. F.R.I.D.A.Y, put on Star Trek."

Coming back to her seat, May was shaking her head. "I can see why you two get along quite well."

Tony spared her a glance, trying to gauge if that was meant to be taken as a compliment or if it was sarcasm. He was still a tad wary of her. The dressing down and harsh reprimand he got from her four months ago after she found out he had given Peter the suit was still rather fresh on his mind.

He didn't hold it against her, naturally. Peter was her kid and if _his_ kid was running around with enhanced powers that he had kept hidden for nearly a year, dressed in a multi-million dollar suit to play vigilante in their neighbourhood, he would have probably reacted the way she did or worse.

To her credit, she was coming around. She did acknowledge that even without Tony Stark in the picture, Peter inadvertently would still have been roaming around Queens as Spider-Man. This way, at least, she knew that someone else has got Peter's back, someone that understood what he was up to.

"Let me guess… Spock's your favourite character," Peter commented half an hour into the movie. "Am I right, Mr. Stark?"

"Obviously."

"I do like him too," May added, completely focused on the movie. "He is quite poised and blunt. Although, I must say, Cadet Kirk does have the looks…"

"May, don't make comments like that," Peter scrunched his face, trying to reach forward towards the tray.

Seeing him struggle, Tony pushed the chocolate pudding the kid was clearly going for into his hand. He checked his watch, noting that it would be another hour before the nurses would pop by to check on Peter for the night. Tony had no obligation to sit with the kid and his aunt here in the Compound's med bay but truth be told, he was enjoying this companionship.

Ever since the Avengers fell out, it had been a little quieter with only Rhodey and Vision around the private living quarters. Whenever Peter came around for suit upgrades, it was like a breath of fresh air. He lifted the spirit and aura in the Compound, not that Tony had ever told him that.

Tony had other things to do, sure. He needed to upgrade the exo-skeleton for Rhodes. In fact, he was putting in the hours for the nano technology he was developing when F.R.I.D.A.Y had alerted him to the distress signal Karen had put up from Peter's suit. Somehow, the kid had managed to trap his leg in a small gutter behind an abandoned warehouse and had broken his tibia in three different places and fractured his fibula. Tony had extracted the kid, flew him to the med bay before sending Happy to retrieve his aunt.

Post-surgery with screws holding his bones together, Peter was confined to the bed as they waited for his enhanced healing to speed up the process. The medical team, thoroughly briefed on Peter's condition, was expecting him to heal within weeks what would have otherwise taken months. Tony made sure to visit him each day. He was usually never on the same 'shift' as his aunt until today but as it was proving out to be, spending the time with May and Peter Parker together wasn't all that bad.

"That was quite good," Tony remarked once the credits rolled.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool, Mr. Stark! Maybe we'll watch the sequel tomorrow?"

"Sure. How 'bout that, May?"

"I've got the afternoon shift tomorrow. I'll only come by at night so you boys have fun."

"Aw, no, we can wait for you May. We can, can't we, Mr. Stark? We started the movie together so we should see it through together."

"Guess the kid has a point," Tony shrugged.

"Well, since you managed to get him to a hospital and get medical treatment by a doctor, which I never could, I guess I can do this one little thing."

Tony frowned. "What's up? You don't like doctors?"

Peter fidgeted, casting his gaze away before dragging it back to the adults in the room.

"N – Not since the spider bite, Mr. Stark. I – I was just afraid that they might … find something different with me and I wouldn't – I can't explain it to them."

Tony and May exchanged a look.

"This is one of my many struggles with our spider kid," May laughed quietly, squeezing Peter's shoulder.

"Alright, okay," Tony exhaled, trying to calm his racing heart. He had never considered that the kid would have nowhere to go when he fell sick. "You've got this place. Right here, alright? May, I don't want you to worry about getting him medical treatment if he even so much as got the flu. You call me and I'll get him to the med bay. These doctors … They've got his records now and they were onboard when the Avengers were still around so they know, alright? They know what's at stake… They know what they are dealing with."

"Thank you, Tony," May nodded gratefully and she looked as if a weight had just been lifted from her shoulders.

He swore this kid was going to be the death of them.

* * *

 _This was based on a tumblr post I made yesterday after I rewatched IW & comprehend that Peter said "Mr. Stark, I'm being beamed up" when Ebony Maw came to NY._

 _If you like it, please drop a review! It fuels me :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_ii._

Peter glanced behind his shoulder, surprised to see that Mr. Stark had followed him out of the car and into the shop.

"Hey, Mr. Delmar," he greeted as usual.

He expected a question about his aunt but there was only silence and it was obvious why. Mr. Delmar was staring. On the other hand, Mr. Stark continued to peruse the candy bars on display but after a while, even he noticed that he was being stared at and looked up.

"Hi," Mr. Stark grinned unperturbed, used to people reacting that way to him.

"Hey, man. You're… Tony Stark."

"The one and only," Mr. Stark extended his hand for a shake.

"Iron Man," the store owner breathed in awe, "in _my_ store."

Mr. Stark nodded, still smiling.

"So, you know this kid? Saw you came in with him."

Glancing over at Peter's direction, his mentor gave another nod. "Sure do."

"What's a kid like you doing with Tony Stark?" Mr. Delmar asked, genuinely curious. "How'd you know him?"

"From internship," Peter muttered, maintaining that cover story. "Can I get the usual sandwich to go? Squish it real flat for me, please. Oh, and the usual for my aunt, too. Do you want anything, Mr. Stark?"

"Give me, uh, your number six."

"Got it and squish it flat, sir?"

"Oh no, don't," Mr. Stark shook his head.

A cloud of judgment crossed his face as he tossed Peter a look but Peter only shrugged. He liked his sandwich flattened.

Since it would be odd to pay only for his and May's sandwich, and odder still to ask Mr Stark to pay for his own, Peter fished a crumpled twenty dollar note out of his pocket for the three sandwiches. He handed the bill over only to feel Mr. Stark's hand on his wrist, stopping his movement. His mentor pulled out a fifty, the smallest denomination he had on his person.

"The change's for the next couple of sandwiches the kid wants after school," Mr. Stark instructed.

"Oh no that's fine, Mr. Stark, I – "

"Learnt to accept things, kid," Mr. Stark muttered before turning on his heels out of the store.

Peter was grinned, grabbed the sandwiches off the counter which Mr. Stark had clearly left for him to take. He didn't understand Mr. Stark's discomfort with being handed things but he didn't want to pry at the same time.

He caught up with his mentor and for the second time that day, was surprised when Mr. Stark walked with him towards the direction of his apartment across.

"You don't have to – uh – come with, Mr. Stark. It's just there, I'll be fine."

"You called me from school," Mr. Stark pointed out. "And technically, I'm supposed to make sure that you get home safe and you won't be out gallivanting on the streets when you're supposed to be in school. That's what a responsible adult would do, right?"

Peter turned red. He had indeed called Mr. Stark. He could call May, of course, but that would mean pulling May off from work for something he did and he didn't want to have to explain to May about what he was doing when the explosion took place in the science lab. It had only just been him and Ned at the back of the class and no one had been hurt but his chemistry teacher had still been shaken by it and Ned had tried to explain Peter's experimental web fluid away as best as he could while Peter cleaned up the half prepared webbing off him in the washroom.

Suffice to say, Mr. Stark had not been impressed.

Ned's _'Peter accidentally added a little too much of hydrochloric acid'_ was flimsy at best, and Mr. Stark had taken one look at them and reminded them that creating web fluid in school was the easiest way to expose Spider-Man's identity.

"I guess so," Peter shrugged.

"I might as well take a look at your suit. Can't do that in the car."

"You're not going to …," Peter bit his bottom lip, twiddling his thumbs nervously. "You won't tell May what happened, right? Please don't tell her."

"We good on that promise that nothing of that sort will ever happen again?"

"Yeah, yeah," Peter jumped on that, nodding eagerly. "Promise, Mr. Stark. I'll only develop web formulas down at your workshop or the labs at the Compound."

"Good. Then I won't tell your aunt _but_ if there's a repeat, she'll have to know."

When they got to his apartment, May was home. Peter checked his watch. She must have reached about twenty minutes ago, the time it took for the car to make it through traffic from his school to the apartment building.

"Peter, how's school?" she greeted warmly, planting a kiss on his head. "I didn't know Tony was picking you up from school today…"

"Was in the area," Mr. Stark answered as Peter gave him a cursory glance.

"School was okay. Boring, could have done better things."

"Oh, yeah?" his mentor raised an eyebrow. "What sort of things?"

Peter pursed his lips before he promptly disappeared into his room. He came out moments later without his backpack, clutching tightly to his Spider-Man suit. In the living room, May was talking to Mr. Stark.

He didn't know exactly how it happened.

First, May gestured for everyone to take a seat then there they were finishing off the sandwiches with a glass of iced tea. Somehow during that late lunch, Peter found himself listening to Mr. Stark's explanation of the various protocols installed in the Spider-Man's suit to May; protocols that had been put in place for Peter's safety. Peter held his breath, worried that the older man might tell her of the time Ned had removed the Training Wheels Protocol.

He didn't, thankfully.

Instead, Mr. Stark was listening intently to May's suggestions and feedbacks, and her worries that Peter could actually sustained injuries from his night out that she might never know about. He grimaced when May told Mr. Stark outright that he has a habit of keeping his injuries from her for fear of making her worry and not actually realizing that keeping things from her made her worry even more.

Mr. Stark nodded sympathetically even as he shot a look at Peter.

"Tell you what, May," Mr. Stark said, wiping the crumbs from his lips. "I'll do something about it. A new protocol if you will for Karen to report Peter's physical status and vitals straight to F.R.I.D.A.Y after every patrol. The report will then be routed by email to you. How's that sound?"

"That sounds too much like you both babying me," Peter objected.

Short of May threatening to ground him from all Spider-Man activities and Mr Stark agreeing to take that protocol out once he turned eighteen, there was nothing much he could do.

Even after business concerning Spider-Man had concluded, they somehow still managed to just laze around on the sofa and armchair in front of the television watching an old rerun of The Price is Right. Peter kept glancing over at Mr. Stark, trying to look for any signs that the man was bored or had other places to be but he seemed at ease which left Peter astounded.

Mr. Stark had earlier made a passing remark of wanting to surprise Pepper with dinner except Pepper was working late and he had time to kill. Peter wanted to ask if that time was better suited tinkering in his workshop but he didn't, in case Mr. Stark took that the wrong way.

He pulled out his phone, firing a text to Ned – _Dude, Mr. Stark is still here in my apartment. We're watching The Price is Right._

"That's got to be what? A hundred fifty dollars at most?"

Peter pocketed his phone and raised his head to see what Mr. Stark was referring to.

"Oh, but look at the brand," May pointed out to the microwave oven. "It is definitely more. I'm guessing close to three hundred and ten."

"Seriously?" Mr. Stark snorted. "The parts needed to make those are easy to acquire and relatively comes at a low price."

"So it doesn't have to be sold at three hundred dollars?" Peter asked.

"No, it doesn't," Mr. Stark replied. "But that's what running a business means. I can assemble that. Easily."

"Of course you can. You're Tony Stark," Peter grinned.

May guessed correctly, and she guessed a few others right as well. Turning to Mr. Stark, she asked, "I'm curious now, who does your shopping for you?"

That question made his mentor chuckle which in turn made Peter laughed. May watched them, smiling and shaking her head.


	3. Chapter 3

_iii._

The nightmare had been vivid, a memory that had played itself repeatedly in his mind and haunted his sleep for the past weeks. Compared to the horror of holding Peter as he turned to dust, this memory paled in comparison but time had a strange way of digging up the past.

He had been with Pepper, celebrating a deal that she had closed. It had been nice, romantic even, something that Pepper deserved and then through the glass window of the restaurant, at the playground, Tony had seen a child fell from height. The flashback of Peter being slammed to the ground by Thanos had been sudden and brutal.

He couldn't shake it off.

It worsened when Pepper flew off for business two days after and he was left alone in the house with his thoughts, so he had retreated to the workshop and begun work on a new spider suit.

He was proud of it. It had taken him nearly three weeks but the upgraded spider suit was now equipped with enhanced durability which meant it would be able to protect Peter from any type of blunt force attack including the impact of falling from several heights _or_ being slammed to the ground by a mad Titan, not that Tony ever wanted that happening in this lifetime ever again. But it was always better to be safe.

"Boss, you have an incoming call from May Parker."

"Put her through," Tony grunted as he carefully fused two wires on the suit.

F.R.I.D.A.Y did as instructed and May's harried voice came loud over the speaker.

"Tony, just checking in… You are sure you have the cake?"

"Yep, affirmative," Tony answered. "If you must know, May, I _am_ capable of doing this one thing…"

If he was capable of building suits, he sure as hell could get a cake.

May's laugh filled the room. _At least she is laughing_ , Tony thought, _even if it is at his expense._ She deserved this little joy here and there after what she had been through with Peter being presumed dead like the other half of the world's population.

"I just wanted to be sure since I will be passing by the bakery shop on the way home so… If you had forgotten I could – "

"Almost," Tony admitted. "It _almost_ slipped my mind but Pepper saved the day, as per usual."

"Bless her heart," May gushed. "Well then, I'll see you and Pepper tomorrow … Have a good night, Tony."

This was their first year celebrating Peter's birthday after they had gotten him back three months ago – Peter and half of the universe. May had admitted that birthdays in the Parker household had always just been a simple dinner at a restaurant of Peter's choosing with Ned tagging along and a birthday cake once they were home but this year, she had wanted to include Tony and Pepper. They had become a part of Peter's life which seemed only fair.

There would be another party at the Compound with the Avengers as well as Ned and MJ. Peter still had no idea about that and Tony wanted to keep it that way.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y, any word from that wonderfully smart kid in Wakanda? She got back with an answer yet?"

"Yes, boss. She will be coming. Her text states _'Peter's birthday? Count me in!'_ "

Tony scoffed, picturing his red head AI emulating the excitement of a teenager.

"Great. Send a text to Happy. We need to increase security. There'll be royalty this weekend."

"Message sent."

With that handled, he returned to tinkering on the suit, running the system thoroughly and putting it through several test run. He wanted to be able to give it to Peter by the end of the month and so far, things were running as scheduled.

"Boss, it is now past midnight," F.R.I.D.A.Y informed just as Tony had asked her to. "You may proceed to wish Mr. Parker."

He looked up, surprised by how fast time was running.

"Right," he tossed the screwdriver on the workbench. "Patch me through to Peter."

The line kept on ringing and Tony thought that the kid must have gone to bed. He nearly ended it when Peter answered.

"H – Hey, Mr. Stark."

In the background, Tony could hear the unmistakable sound of cars in the street and the wind whistling. He brought up a screen in front of him and turned on Peter's current suit tracker in front of him. As suspected, Peter wasn't home.

"What are you doing, kid? It's midnight on a school night. You're supposed to already be home in bed or doing some last minute algebra homework."

"I – I know but I did all my homework and M – May says I can have an extra hour tonight."

"You're a horrible liar, kid. May doesn't know, does she?"

He heard Peter sigh.

"She's sleeping, I think."

"Go home, Pete," Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's your birthday, give yourself this break. Don't be so busy trying to save Queens."

"Oh wha -" He sounded surprised and Tony heard him shift. "Right, it's 10th August now."

"Yeah, kid," Tony chuckled.

On the screen, he watched the tracker move as Peter make his way back towards his apartment.

It was a feeling in the pit of his stomach - something that was a companion to his paranoia and drove him to make suits upon suit - that was making him uneasy. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but Tony knew it was the kid.

"You okay, underoos?"

His fingers flew across the keyboard, keying in command for Karen to run scans. He read Peter's vitals.

"Yeah, yeah, I am. What's up?"

The kid seemed fine. His heart rate is a little elevated but that could also be him currently swinging from building to building to get home.

Still, Tony wasn't quite convinced. They had gotten Peter back but it always felt as if he wasn't truly there with them, as if he had left a portion of his soul back in that void.

May had tried to get the kid to open up and talk but so far, all she met was a brick wall. Peter did an impressive job of assuring her again and again that he was fine, that he was just tired and that there was nothing to be worried about.

Tony had stepped in when May had come to him for help. He had asked if the kid was actually sleeping but all he got was a half nod and a small smile coupled with a _'sure I'm getting some sleep, Mr. Stark. I'm a teenager, that's what we love to do. Ask Ned. Don't worry about me.'_

He wanted to tell the kid that he knew what it felt like to stand face to face with death, to see horrors that even words couldn't describe and to come back from it but each time he tried, the words were lodged in his throat. His fears and nightmares he thought he had under control came bubbling to the surface. It wasn't as debilitating as it was right after the Chitauri invasion but it still made it difficult to breathe.

"What's the crime fighting scene looking like tonight?"

Listening to Peter recount the robbery he thwarted and the car accident he stopped almost felt as if he was listening to the kid before The Snap. The same kid who often left voicemails for Happy but Tony could hear the heavy weariness in his voice.

He wanted to believe that everything was back to the way it was but clearly it wasn't.

"I'm home now, Mr. Stark," Peter informed.

"Good, that's good," Tony said. "I'd better get off the phone and hey, kid, happy birthday."

Crawling into bed next to Pepper that night, Tony had a lot to be thankful for. He had never really given it much thought but after Thanos, he had begun to tick off every good thing in his life which mostly revolved around the woman sleeping next to him and the boy in a twin bed in Queens.

He curled himself behind Pepper, laying a protective hand on her stomach as he gently pulled her closer. He fell asleep with his nose buried in her hair.

" _May,"_ he gritted his teeth. "Calm down."

Right now, that felt more like a command to himself because when F.R.I.D.A.Y had connected May Parker through in the middle of the night and the woman had sounded completely frazzled, Tony's heart rate had spiked up.

"You have to come _now_ , Tony. Please. You gotta help me. He won't wake up," May said, frantic. "He's trapped in – in a nightmare and I don't know what else…. Come quickly."

He didn't need to hear anymore. Tony shot out of bed, already calling on his suit from the work shop. He would get to Queens faster if he flew.

"Tony…" Pepper said, sounding weary.

"I gotta go, honey. It's the kid. I'll call you."

"What happened? Tony… What happened to Peter?"

He paused by the window.

It wasn't fair to just leave Pepper this way. She cared about Peter, too.

"I don't know, Peps. Better hope it's nothing serious. I'll call you. I love you. Go back to sleep," he shouted over his shoulder just as the mask covered his face.

Tony reached Queens in record time. The suit retreated from him just as he arrived in front of their door. May yanked it open on his second knock.

He could hear the whimpers and pained moans. Stepping into Peter's room, it was clear that the kid was in the throes of a nightmare. His fingers were grasping the sheet and he was muttering under his breath.

Tony stepped closer.

"Too quiet, too quiet, too quiet," Peter repeated.

He frowned, assessing the problem. Tony could count the number of times Peter had made an offhand remark about the void being too silent, so much so that he didn't even ask Tony to lower the volume of the AC/DC music playing in the workshop whenever he dropped by like he often did because Tony's music used to hurt his ears.

 _Music…_

"May," Tony turned towards her. He gestured towards the kid's phone and tapped his ears.

"He was screaming, Tony. That was when I woke up but he's been that way ever since I called you. I tried talking to him and tried to bring him back. He said it's quiet so I thought talking to him would help."

"Of course," Tony nodded. "That makes sense, May. Let's try the music now, let's give him something to listen and focus on."

Tony slid his hand under Peter's head to lift him up as May placed the headphones on. Selecting a random song from one of Peter's most recently played playlist on Spotify, Tony was careful to turn the volume on the low side so as not to disrupt Peter's enhanced senses too much.

Slowly, Peter's fingers loosened its grip on the sheet. He threw himself back on the bed, shaking his head left and right, eyes still closed.

"Peter," Tony's voice was firm and unyielding. The music wasn't too loud that Peter couldn't hear. "It's me, kid."

He gave his shoulder a gentle shake only for his hand to be aggressively slapped away as Peter bolted into a sitting position, his eyes wild and his breathing labored.

"Peter, it's okay," May touched his ankle. "It's just us."

"Doctor Strange," he gasped, fingers grappling the front of Tony's shirt. "Doctor Strange, I – "

"Hey, it's me. It's Tony. Just me, underoos," he said in what he hoped was a soothing tone. "You're okay, Peter. You're home, you're safe. Alright?"

Slowly, Tony removed the headphones from Peter's head. The room was dark except for the soft glow of the bedside lamp that May had turned on earlier.

"No," he shook his head, blinking to get adjusted to his surroundings. "I – I'm sorry."

"You're safe, baby," May crooned. "We're here now."

"Is it still too quiet for you?" Tony asked. "You're in Queens so it's not so quiet out in the streets. You want to take a moment, Pete, just to listen for what's out there?"

"I – I can't get it out of my head – that world," Peter inhaled shakily, his eyes squeezed shut. "Sometimes… It's all I ever see."

Tony exchanged a look with May. He knew a thing or two about this. For months, all he saw was himself heading straight for the portal during the battle of New York and the horrors that lay beyond it.

"Talk me through it, kid," Tony encouraged as May ran her hand through the kid's curls.

From what Strange had told him once they had gotten him back, they had all been held in a pocket dimension. But even Strange seemed haunted by it that Tony didn't push much.

"It's – It's just barren and there's _nothing_. There's nothing there, Mr. Stark, only us. I – oh god – that old man I saved from that car crash tonight… I've seen him before. I've seen him in _there._ I can't escape it."

"Oh, Peter," May pressed his face against her chestm holding him close and tight.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologising," Tony said, shifting until he was leaning against the wall of Peter's bunk bed, legs stretched out perpendicular to the mattress. Next to him, the kid was curled on his side with May's arm around him.

"I just – just want to be better," Peter admitted in a small voice, reminding him too much of a child that needed all the protection he could get right now. Something fierce pushed its way inside Tony, rearing with the need to guard and shield. "I – I kept thinking that it might be better to forget."

Tony tilted his head in contemplation. Hadn't Strange made that an option? The Sorcerer had told May and Tony that he could do that for Peter if the boy needed it. Peter had declined back then, convinced that all he needed for time to heal. That decision had surprised Tony but he always knew Peter was stronger and braver, because if that choice was presented to Tony after the Chitauri Invasion, to be able to forget that experience and to be able to sleep without being haunted, he would have taken it without a second thought.

"Honey," May pressed a desperate kiss on his head.

"The nightmares, Peter… They're never going to go away, not completely, but it will get easier. I promise you that," Tony said. "Would it be better for you if I were to call Strange?"

"Tony, surely there are other ways to cope other than forgetting?" May questioned, sounding alarm.

She didn't know much about magic and was understandably worried but she had not outright declined Strange's proposition either back when it was placed on the table.

"Not for that," Tony assured. "I just mean he was with Peter all throughout their time there. Perhaps talking to him would make the kid feel better… You know, having someone who understands… That's all."

Pushing himself up, Peter shook his head. He pressed his hands on his face and when he emerged, he seemed much more composed.

"I'm okay now. I'll – I'll be okay. Having you and May here helps a lot, Mr. Stark. It's… Like you said, I gotta find something that'll ground me and right now, it's the both of you. It reminds me that I'm here because you both weren't _there_. Does that make sense?"

"Absolutely," Tony nodded.

"It's just a bad day," May rubbed soothing circles on Peter's back. "We all have those days but look, Peter, it's a new day now."

Outside, the sun had begun to peek across the horizon, lighting the skies in a pale orange hue. Even without his enhanced hearing, Tony could already hear Peter's upstairs neighbour moving around the apartment. Queens was slowly waking up but for the three of them cramped in the bottom half of the bunk bed, they had been awake for most of the night. Not the way Tony had imagined he would spend his night but he was glad May had called him.

If the kid needed him, he would be there no matter the time or the occasion.

At seven in the morning, May finally left the bed to open the door for Pepper who came with the cake Tony had ordered – chocolate with salted caramel buttercream and an obnoxious message that read ' _Happy Birthday, Peter'_ frosted in Iron Man's colour.

He had no idea how she managed to get the cake even before the shop opened but she had never disappoint before.

"You're a miracle worker, honey," Tony beamed.

With the candles placed and lighted up, Peter blew on all eighteen candles while still in his pajamas. He turned red in the face with all the loud and out of tune singing from the three adults but he was smiling, and that was all Tony wanted out of him.

Sitting on the floor of Peter's bedroom, they ate chocolate cake for breakfast.

"So this means no cake for the dinner we're having later?" Peter asked innocently. "Ned would be disappointed."

"We can always keep a slice or two for him," May suggested to which Peter nodded.

"Don't worry about it – finish up. I'll get another. Look who you're talking to."

"Go ahead, Peter," Pepper smiled, that dazzling smile that _still_ made Tony wonder what he ever did to deserve her, "it's your birthday cake so wipe it clean. We all know _I'll_ be the one to place an order for a second cake like I did with this."

"Hey, give me some credit," Tony rebuked, "that birthday message on that cake was all me."

"Oh, really? With all that red and gold, I couldn't tell," Peter joked.

"We'll give him 12% of the credit," Pepper said.


End file.
